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UNITED STATES PATENT opt cs. ROBERT JAY SHOEMAKER, OF CHICAGO, ILIJINOIS, ASSIGNOR T LEADIZING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

IRON OR STEEL BEARING ELEMENT AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT J. SHOEMAKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful'Improvements in Iron or Steel Bearing n'lements and Methods of Making Same, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the production of a metal article or body composed of iron or steel and a facing of babbitt, or other anti-friction metal, permanently united to the iron or steel. More specifically the invention contemplates the manufacture of babbitt faced (using the term babbitt in the generic sense) bearing elements, such as the cross heads of railway locomotives or the steel or iron journal bearings used in automobiles or other mechanisms.

In the. manufacture of locomotive cross heads having anti-friction metal bearing faces great difficulty has been experienced in obtaining a permanent and reliable bond between the steel of the cross head and the babbitt facing. A common method has been to solder the babbitt to the cross head by means of ordinary solder, employing sal ammoniac as a flux; but the resulting bond has not been found satisfactory, particularly when the babbitt facing is machined, according to the usual practice, the machining operation bein likely to tear the facing from the head. Consequently various expensive devices for mechanically anchoring the babbitt to the cross head have been re- I sorted to.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to provide a method, including. the use of a flux of novel composition and properties, whereby the babbitt or other antifriction metal may be much more permanently and reliably cemented or bonded to the iron or steel body orarticle than has been heretofore possible.

Another object is to make it feasible to utilize for. this operation a bonding metal, one consisting of lead or lead alloyed with a small amount of tin (or its equivalent cadmium or bismuth) which will be much cheaper than the ordinary solder consisting of 50% lead and of 50% tin, or solders containing higher percentagesof tin, such compositions being expensive because of the relatively high cost of tin.

The method that I preferably employ,

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 13, 1921, Application filed April 18, 1921. Serial No. 461,032.

which will be described in connection With' the fabrication of locomotive cross heads, is as follows: The cross head is first cleansed by abrasion of its superficial rust and grease and the surface to which the anti-friction metalis to be united is then painted over with a fiuxing composition consisting of a water solution of zinc chlorid and tin chlorid to which is preferably added a small amount of hydrochloricacid for the pur pose of keeping the tin chlorid in solution. The specific proportions of the ingredients of the flux are preferably as follows: zinc chlorid 45% to by weight, tin chlorid 10% by weight, commercial hydrochloric acid 10% by weight, the balance being water. a I

The fiuxed surface is then immersed in a body of molten bonding metal or the bonding metal maybe sprinkled on as a powder and melted by means of a blow torch. the bonding metal preferably consisting either of lead alone or of lead and not substantially in excess of 10% tin.

The cross head is kept in the lead bath when the immersion method is used until the fluxed surface is plated or coated over with a thin film of the lead (or alloy of lead), whereupon it is taken from the bath and the babbitt, or other anti-friction metal, is cast upon the plated surface while the plating is still in molten condition. The casting operation may be accomplished by use by any suitable mold or form.

By the method above described it is possible to permanently and reliably unite to iron or steel either the ordinary babbitt consisting of 85% lead, 10% antimony and 5% tin, or other known anti-friction metals, such, for example, as the composition consistingof 98% lead, and the balance calcium and barium, or other alkaline earth metals, or the composition, frequently used for automobile bearings,'consisting of 85% tin,'10% antimony-and 5% copper. By this method not only is a better bond obtained between the anti.friotion metal and the iron or steel, but an economy is effected by use of the cheaper soldering or bonding medium. The flux as above specified may be used in other bonding, plating or soldering operations than that described.

I claim;

1. A composite metal article consisting of a base of iron or steel and a facing of anticonslsts in covering the surface of said body friction metal united to the base by an intervening film of a bonding metal composed principally of lead.

. 2. A composite metal article consisting of a base of iron or steel and a facing of antifriction metal united to the base by an intervening film of a bonding metal composed of lead and. tin and containing not substantially more than 10% of tin.

3. Method of uniting an anti-frictionmetal facing to a body of steel or iron which with a water-solution fluxcontaining zinc chlorid and tin chlorid, covering the fluxed surface with a plating of a molten bonding metal consisting principally of lead, and

' casting the anti-friction metal on the lead plated surface while molten state.

4. Method of uniting an anti-friction metal facing to a body of steel or iron which consists in covering the surface of said body the plating is in a with a water solution flux containing zinc chlorid and tin chlorid, covering the fiuxed surface with a plating of a molten bonding metal consisting of lead containing not sub stantially more than 10% of tin and castmg the anti-friction metal on the lead plated surface while the state.

6. Method of uniting an anti-friction metal facing t) a body of steel, or iron which consists in cov iring the surface of said body with a water solution flux containing zinc chlorid, tin chlorid and hydrochloric acid, covering the fiuxed surface with a molten film of a bonding metal consisting principally of lead and containing not more than 10% of tin, and casting the anti-friction metal on said surface while the lead film is in a molten state.

7. Method ofuniting an anti-friction metal facing to a body of steel or iron which consists in covering the surface of said body with a water solution flux containing zinc chlorid and tin chlorid, fluxed surface in a molten taining lead, and casting plating is in a-molten metal bath conthe anti-friction metal on the lead plated surface while the plating is in a molten state.

8. Method of uniting an anti-friction meta-l facing to a body of steel or iron whichv consists in plating the surface of said body with a metal film composed principally of lead, and casting the anti-friction metal on the lead plated surface while the plating is in a molten state.

9. Method of uniting an anti-friction immersing the metal facing to a body of steel or iron which consists in with a metal film composed of lead containing not in excess of 10% of tin and casting the anti-friction metal on the lead plated surface while the plating is in a molten state.

ROBERT JAY SHOEMAKER.

plating the surface of said bodyv 

